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Chapter 4 (light novel 2)
"Book of Fetus" is the 4th chapter of The Mystic Archives of Dantalian light novel, volume 2''.'' It's divided into nine parts and contains one illustration. The chapter is labeled as Episode 07 in the story line. Wesley Disward was requested as an appraiser for the collection of books owned by the late Colonel Lilburn. Hugh accepts the job in his instead and, accompanied by Dalian, meets the beautiful Estella Lilburn. However, things get dangerous when they learn about a curse that kills people around the family.The Mystic Archives of Dantalian light novel, Chapter 4, volume 2. __TOC__ Summary Inside the Labyrinth Library, one could see books in the form of endless corridors and towers going from the ground to the sky. The only sound was of a lonely girl in white flipping through pages. She hears footsteps, finding a boy on the verge of tears. The girl sighs, closes her book and takes out two other books from the bookshelves next to her. She says he should leave with the books, before it’s too late. She answers he will need it after he questions why he’s receiving two books. His voice is of a grown-up man. The girl keeps saying he should go, before the gates of The Mystic Archives of Dantalian close. However, the boy grabs her hand. A red jewel is attached to his right hand. He asks if she’s not lonely. He wants to leave with her. She answers that the world full of books is hers and that she has forgot about loneliness. Slightly low-spirited, the boy leaves the place with the books, while the girl continues to read. The sound of a key shutting a gate is heard. She’s reading a book about a girl in black garment, with long, black hair. Part 1 Hugh and Dalian are walking in the rain, following a path through a dark, moist forest. Hugh confirms they are going in the right direction, while looking at a map. Dalian questions him repeatedly. He answers that they should see the mansion within 15 minutes. They find landslides on their way to the Colonel’s mansion. Dalian wishes to see his collection of books. Hugh was carrying a letter from Estella Lilburn containing advance payment for his services. The Colonel had died six months ago, and Estella was his granddaughter. She wanted someone to appraise the collection she inherited. Hugh wonders if they will find her, since her parents passed out and the road for the mansion was blocked. Leaving the forest, they see the Colonel’s mansion in the distance, across a valley. They need to cross a decayed suspension bridge, covered with moss and damaged by insects. It sways when Hugh steps on it. Dalian grabs his arm to stop him. She says they should go together, since Hugh would cowardly stop during the crossing. She was trying to hide her fear of heights. Slowly, they reach the opposite hill. Dalian screams and argues with Hugh all the way. Part 2 The decrepit mansion has Elizabethan architecture, surrounded by grey walls, with a clock tower in the center. Hugh was embarrassed for a moment when they were greeted by a beautiful girl with tied, blonde hair. Estella looked 17 years old. He introduces himself as Wesley’s replacement. Dalian hides behind Hugh. He explains his grandfather was killed six months ago. Estella lets them in. She seems surprised by Dalian’s appearance. While they walk through a dark corridor, Estella explains she called for Wesley’s services because she knew about the Phantom Books he collected. She wishes to be called Estella, rather than Miss Lilburn. Hugh notices how the mansion is quiet. Estella was living by herself. Landslides were blocking the transit of cars. For Hugh’s confusion, Estella affirms she’s been waiting for him. They hear a melody similar to what’s heard from a music box. She explains the sound is coming from the bells inside the clock tower. The hymn soon stops and the mansion becomes silent again. Part 3 Estella leaves to prepare some tea. Hugh and Dalian check the Colonel’s study. His dusty collection is vast, occupying half of the room. The majority of the books are written in foreign language. Dalian was reading one of them silently. Hugh considered a difficult job to appraise the valuable books. For Dalian, it should be pleasant, combining hobby and profit, he thought. However, she was in a bad mood since they arrived. Dalian uses Hugh’s back as a stepladder to reach other book. Her mood gets worse when Hugh shares how he wants to know more about Estella. He suggests the financial situation of the family is not good, since there were no servants around. Estella’s grandfather was Elvis Lilburn, a man that obtained his fortune in the mid-19th century with a patent of an automatic music playing method. “Colonel” was only a nickname, since he was a civilian. Hugh was there to find a valuable book among his collection, to save the family from bankruptcy. Dalian is jealous about Hugh talking about Estella and her family. She questions about his attitude and if he thinks she’s beautiful. Dalian suggests Hugh enjoys how Estella ties her hair up, showing her nape. They are interrupted by a strong knock. A middle-aged gentleman appears. He has a great beard and a calm atmosphere, apparently a wealthy man in his late thirties. Dalian gets scared, forgetting about the books and hiding behind Hugh. The man is surprised by the young appearance of the person appraising the collection of books. He introduces himself as Martin Geese, Estella’s cousin. His mother was the sister of Estella’s father. Even with the landslides blocking the path, Martin managed to reach the mansion with servants that will care for Hugh and Dalian’s food and accommodation. Hugh notices the job he was doing involves Martin’s inheritance. His attitude may be motivated by selfishness, rather than courtesy. Hugh questions Martin. He wants to know why Estella leaves by herself in such a secluded place. Martin seems unhappy to answer. He reveals the real reason Hugh was asked to come was to find a cursed book confining Estella to the mansion. Part 4 When was almost midnight, Hugh forces Dalian to their bedrooms. She’s distracted, still reading from the Colonel’s collection. She explains how the late collector had books about foreign law. He was interested in criminal science. Hugh wonders about what Martin said. According to him, Estella was under a curse caused by a book. It seems like a curse how the girl was alone and yet, one could see the lights from the city in the distance. Hugh had found a newspaper in the Colonel’s study. He learned about people dying or disappearing in the mansion, including Estella’s parents and servants. In the past ten years, nineteen people were missing, mostly men. It happened with Estella’s fiancés, when they tried to take her out of the mansion. Dalian disapproves how they think a curse is causing everything. Martin affirmed the deaths also occurred 50 years ago, when the Colonel was young. There are records of more than 100 strangled people. Martin believes the Colonel hid the Phantom Book that brings curse somewhere in the mansion. Dalian affirms a Phantom Book only manifests magical powers when it is read. While Dalian starts reading another book, Hugh notices Estella and Martin through a window. They are walking together like a couple, touching shoulders and looking at each other with affection. Dalian is happy knowing about their relationship. Hugh not so much. The midnight comes with the sound of the bells from the clock tower. Hugh tells Dalian she should go to her bedroom so he can sleep. She wants to keep reading. When Hugh tries to go to her bedroom instead, she interrupts him. Dalian is trying to hide her fear of sleeping by herself in that supposedly cursed mansion. Out of the window, they hear a reverberating roar. It’s Martin’s voice. Part 5 Hugh runs to the front yard, finding a humanoid monster. It’s covered with a white cloth. It’s twice as tall as an average adult, with wide shoulders and thin waist. The monster is holding a human on his clawed left arm. Blood was dripping from the man’s neck. Hugh sees a bloodstained Estella behind the monster. He tells Estella to get down, attracting the monster’s attention. Hugh pulls his revolver and shoots three times. It had no effect, like shooting stone walls. The creature releases a bizarre groan. Hugh shoots the remaining bullets. The monster only stops for a moment. It prepares to attack Hugh with its right claw, when Dalian arrives. She reveals the lock in her chest. Hugh throws his gun and removes the glove in his right hand. He prepares to open the Library. However, the monster groans again and leaps with a strange squeaking sound, holding the body of Martin. Its power is sufficient to crush the cobblestone floor. It lands on the roof of the mansion before disappearing, for Hugh’s disappointment. The bells stop. Dalian rearranges her clothes while Hugh picks his weapon and checks Estella. She’s covered with Martin’s blood, but has no injuries. She asks about her cousin. Hugh remembers the wound in his neck and confirms he was killed by a monster. He notices Estella smiling for a moment. She looks at her blooded arms and says how her late grandmother will be angry again. Part 6 The next morning, Dalian awakes Hugh. He couldn’t sleep very well, alert in case the monster returns. She says she will put sugar cubes in his nose as an experiment if he doesn’t get up. She also informs Hugh the suspension bridge fell during the night. He suggests the monster is guarding the Phantom Book. Dalian repeats there is no such a thing as a curse caused by an unread Phantom Book. She wants to write it down on Hugh’s coat, so he can remember. Hugh stops her when she gets to the hanger. When he questions her, Dalian says it’s not impossible that the monster was born from a Phantom Book. Hugh remembers how the creature was like a statue from a fairy tale, coming to life through magic. Dalian reflects and mentions the Book of Fetus. It’s a book of foreign law containing the knowledge about how to create a golem. The Golem requires a master. She explains the monster was being manipulated through the 72 Sacred Notes of the Shem-ha-mephorash. She points out how difficult it is to send a complex order such as escaping with a body. Estella was suspect, but she was not holding a Phantom Book, neither she had a motive to manipulate the Golem. The curse affected her fiancés, besides being active before she was born. Hugh believed she was a victim. Dalian questions if a reason is necessary to commit such a crime. Hugh walks to his coat to reload his gun. He notices a thick book in one of the pockets. Dalian heads to Colonel’s study to try to find the Phantom Book and solve the case. Part 7 Hugh is checking the dusty shelves for a Phantom Book. He questions if Dalian will also search for it. She’s busy, reading the records of the Lilburn family. It’s written in a foreign language. They learn that the Colonel’s wife is descendant of a foreign aristocrat that immigrated. Her ancestors left their country due to a massacre. Hugh realizes the curse exists for more than a hundred years. He returns to the bookshelves until the noon bells are heard. Estella appears with lunch. She had let her hair down. According to her, all the servants left the mansion after knowing about Martin’s death. She had prepared the meat brought by the cook. Dalian is interested by the food. Hugh also interrupts his search and sits to eat. He asks how Estella is feeling after what happened last night. She answers she’s fine, since Hugh will be with her forever. He answers he had arranged for someone to use explosives to open the road again. Estella would be able to leave the mansion. She gazes to a kitchen knife, emotionless. Hugh is stabbed. Estella smiles while Hugh’s coat is bloodstained. She complains how she wanted to live forever with someone. Estella killed Martin because he would not be able to return to the mansion, after his wife found out about their relationship. She killed people because when people died, they were not able to leave her. One of the walls of the study collapses with a terrible roar. The monster appears. It carries the head of one of Martin’s servants. Dalian explains the Golem was not trying to protect a cursed book. Estella was the cursed one, part of a family with woman possessing a strong impulse to kill. Hugh remembers about the genocide involving Estella’s family and the cases from 50 years ago, when her grandmother was probably around 17 years old. Estella asks why Hugh was not affected by the knife. He was only slightly hurt because the knife went through the thick book Dalian put on his pocket earlier. Dalian knew the Golem was not the killer. She explains the creature was created by Colonel Lilburn to hide the evidences of the crimes committed by his wife and granddaughter. It would even erase the witnesses. This behavior was misunderstood as a curse. Hugh and Dalian are now evidences the Golem is trying to get rid of. The creature throws the severed head and jump towards them, crashing the table where they were about to have lunch. Dalian gives Hugh the right to open the gate of the Library, revealing the lock on her chest. Hugh uses the golden key engraved on his hand. Part 8 Hugh remembers about a dream with a girl in white. He removes two Phantom Books from the void on Dalian’s chest. He opens one of them and reads a section written in strange letters. Light shines from where Hugh is standing. The Golem is pushed back with a huge shock wave that shakes the mansion. According to Dalian, a shield capable of blocking a thousand spears was summoned from the Book of Styx, records about the goddess of the underworld, written by Charon, an immortal wise man. However, the creature was not damaged. Only its cloth was burnt, revealing its armored body made of stone and metal. They couldn’t see any inscribed words related to the 72 words. The monster had no weak points. The Golem roars and hits the shield repeatedly. Hugh gets tired, since his spirit was being consumed as magical power for the shield. Dalian reminds Hugh about the second Phantom Book. He reads a reddish clay tablet with the name of an ancient God. Soon after, a lightning strikes the Golem, blowing it away. Storm clouds are seen through the collapsed roof. The study is on fire. Dalian describes The Clay Tablet of Ugarit and its power of attracting lightning using the hammer of the Thunder God of Canaan. Hugh is on his knees, exhausted. The Golem rises up again to protect Estella, who fell after the lightning strike. Dalian explains the creature is immortal. Hugh should look for the 72 Sacred Notes of the Shem-ha-mephorash. He realizes the Phantom Book controlling the Golem is not in written form, but as the carillon of the mansion which produced a strange tone. Even after his death, the Colonel was protecting his granddaughter through the sound waves coming from his musical instrument. Dalian smiles and holds The Clay Tablet of Ugarit with Hugh, touching hands. They recite the words inscribed in the Phantom Book, calling for countless lightning strikes from Baal, a pagan God. The clock tower is destroyed, followed by the Golem. Hugh breaths heavily, sweating. They prepare to leave the burning mansion. Estella stays behind, saying she will not be lonely because everyone was there, including her mother and grandmother. She disappears under debris, smiling. Part 9 Hugh returned home after a week. He was being questioned by the authorities. Dalian was in a bad mood. They had destroyed a valuable Phantom Book which could be used automatically. The Book of Fetus was probably permanently lost too. Bodies were found in the basement of the Colonel’s mansion. Estella was soon forgotten by people, who believed she was a simple victim of a lightning strike. The payment Hugh received was burned during the fire. Hugh asks Dalian about the curse during an afternoon tea. Dalian explains murderers are born from families with abusive parents. She was monopolizing the cookies while reading a book. She had clumsily tied her hair up. She gets angry when he compares it with Estella’s style. He takes the last cookie, for Dalian’s shock, and unravels her messy hair. Dalian’s face is a mix of joy and fury. She criticizes his interest in Estella. Hugh asks if she doesn’t feel lonely. She replies she doesn’t have time for that when Hugh is around. He returns to the kitchen with the empty cookie jar, while Dalian continues sipping tea and reading. References Category:Light Novel Chapters